HORAN Wealth LLC Raises Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

HORAN Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,798 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,746 shares during the quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 41,878 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $12,581,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 121,351 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $36,455,000 after buying an additional 29,264 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 9,791 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,941,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $342,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.0% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,293 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,092,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $253,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,413 shares in the company, valued at $397,900.80. The trade was a 38.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William Jr. Clyburn acquired 204 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. This trade represents a 101.49% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NSC opened at $306.77 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.47. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $308.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.32.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.